Oregon
Lawyers claim repeated denial to clients at Oregon ICE facilities
Learn about emergency declarations in Salem, Woodburn over ICE arrests
The cities of Salem and Woodburn declared states of emergency after dozens of ICE arrests occured in both communities.
U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken heard additional testimony during a two-hour hearing on Dec. 18 in Innovation Law Lab’s lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of Homeland Security over what they say is a systemic denial of access to counsel at Oregon ICE facilities.
Attorneys with Innovation Law Lab first filed the suit in October on behalf of CLEAR Clinic and the farmworker union Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste. An amended complaint was filed on Nov. 13, adding “Leon X” as a plaintiff and seeking class action status.
The suit asks Aiken to issue a preliminary injunction requiring the federal government to grant access to counsel before someone is transferred out of state.
In a Dec. 15 court filing, Innovation Law Lab said ICE, CBP and DHS’s system for access to counsel is “no system at all.”
Director of Legal Advocacy at Innovation Law Lab Tess Hellgren again told Aiken that the federal government has been making mass arrests and detaining people across Oregon to meet quotas disclosed in other cases.
“What defendants have not made efforts to increase, as established by their own declaration, is access to counsel at the Oregon field offices,” Hellgren said. “Individuals detained at these Oregon field offices are allowed to access counsel only if it is convenient for defendants.”
Hellgren said access to counsel at Oregon field offices is crucial.
“What happens at these Oregon facilities before transfer may result in irreversible consequences for an individual case,” Hellgren said.
Surge of ICE arrests in Oregon in recent months
Civil immigration arrests increased 1,400% since October and 7,900% compared to 2024, according to Innovation Law Lab.
Emily Ryo, a professor at Duke University Law School, submitted research in a declaration for the lawsuit using data released by ICE in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
That dataset revealed that the average daily ICE arrest rate in Oregon rose from 0.3 to 1.39 per day in the summer of 2025. In October, daily arrests in Oregon surged to 17.45 arrests per day.
The Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition said that during October, the hotline received reports of more than 292 detentions, at a rate of 15 to 45 per day. PIRC received reports of at least 35 people detained in Woodburn in a single day.
Woodburn declared a state of emergency on Nov. 21. Other nearby cities, like Salem, have also declared emergencies.
In November, PIRC received reports of 373 detentions, and the hotline received reports of 94 detentions in the first week of December, according to court documents.
Organizing Director for PCUN Marlina Campos said the organization has had to stop focusing on key campaigns to be in “rapid response mode.”
Staff patrol the streets to monitor ICE activity and notify PCUN members if they cannot leave their homes or go to work. Staff have also canvassed door-to-door and heard directly about ICE’s impact, Campos said. At least four PCUN members have been arrested, she said.
Campos described Oct. 30 on the stand, saying she saw masked agents cross the street as she made her way to PCUN’s office in Woodburn. Campos said she got out of her car, started recording and contacted PIRC.
“There was a lot of panic,” Campos said. “It was unbelievable.”
Lawyers detail difficulties contacting Oregon detainees before transfer
Aiken heard testimony from CLEAR Clinic staff attorney Josephine Moberg and Eugene immigration attorney Katrina Kilgren about their recent difficulties in meeting with clients at ICE offices in Portland and Eugene. Both submitted more than one declaration in support of the case.
Moberg said she’s been to the Portland field office approximately 20 times since she began working at the CLEAR Clinic in June.
She said “oftentimes” officials say there is a problem that prevents her from meeting with prospective or current clients at the facility. Moberg said it takes a “few exchanges” before officers permit her entrance.
She spoke further about her experience of being denied access to the facility on July 30. According to a declaration, Moberg was at the facility, waiting in the lobby for more than an hour to meet with prospective clients, but was never able to do so. Her clients were transported out of Oregon, presumably while she was waiting, she said. Moberg submitted another declaration about a similar experience on Nov. 11 when she attempted to meet with seven prospective clients who had been arrested.
Officers came outside and told her and another attorney that the building was closed for Veterans’ Day. Large vans with tinted windows entered and left the facility as Moberg was outside.
Kilgren said attorneys have been told to wait outside the Eugene building since May and June of 2025. She said three dates stood out: Oct. 15, Nov. 5 and Nov. 19, when several people were arrested in the Eugene area.
In a Nov. 4 declaration, she said she had appointments with two people she was representing but was refused permission to join them. A building security guard threatened to trespass her if she did not exit, she said.
She said access at the Eugene office keeps getting “more and more limited.”
Both Moberg and Kilgren spoke of difficulties scheduling meetings with clients at the Tacoma, Washington detention center and other facilities.
Moberg said she went to attend a video call with a client at the Louisiana detention center last week and learned he had already signed voluntary departure paperwork and had been deported before he was able to receive any advice about his rights.
Federal government limits hearing response, denies claims
U.S Department of Justice attorney Michael Velchik did not provide an opening statement and called only CLEAR Clinic executive director Elena Tupper as a witness.
Velchik asked how many CLEAR Clinic attorneys she supervises and whether CLEAR Clinic is registered to have itself listed at ICE offices. Tupper said CLEAR Clinic is not, but the Equity Core of Oregon, which CLEAR Clinic is part of, is.
ICE, CBP and DHS denied that they regularly restrict access to lawyers and also asked the court not to grant class-action certification.
They said limitations exist at all three of ICE’s field offices in Oregon, located in Portland, Eugene, and Medford, because individuals cannot be held longer than 12 hours at the offices under land use agreements. Those limitations mean it is not always possible to accommodate immediate in-person visitation with attorneys before transport, lawyers for ICE, CBP, and DHS said in a Dec. 15 filing.
They said Innovation Law Lab presented “no evidence” that Leon X was likely to be arrested and subsequently unlawfully denied access to an attorney while in custody. They also pushed back against the existence of a uniform policy or practice as a reason Aiken should decline class-action certification.
Velchik said the government was concerned that the lawsuit could be used “to leverage the machinery of the judiciary” to interfere with and affect the safety of ICE facilities and enforcement of immigration law.
“I can’t stress enough that the government emphatically opposes any injunction that would restrict our ability to protect the safety of federal officers and detainees by limiting where and how long they must be detained,” Velchick said.
He said the plaintiffs would want a CLEAR Clinic attorney to sign off before DHS could perform a transfer, a notion he called “insane.”
Aiken said she would take the court filings and testimony into consideration.
She said she would issue an opinion “as quickly as possible,” but did not provide a projected date for that decision.
Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com on X @DianneLugo or Bluesky @diannelugo.bsky.social.
The Oregon Country Fair is right around the corner and got an up-close preview of the annual event with generations of revelers expected to return yet again.
Vendors and construction teams were busy setting the venue up on Wednesday. It opens to the public on Friday, and organizers are expecting a big turnout.
For over fifty years, people have come together to enjoy live music, art, food and community at the event in Veneta.
“It has definitely changed and evolved and it’s definitely still holding true to the magic that has started the fair,” said fair attendee Jill Carter.
Carter has been going to the fair for about forty years, but throughout her time there, there’s always one thing on her mind.
“I’ve had a lifelong dream to do the poster, and I’ve been working on applying for a long time, and I got to do it and I’m so excited!”
Carter says over the years, she’s fine-tuned her design proposal to accurately capture the whimsey of the fair.
“In our day-to-day world, we really don’t get to connect on this kind of level of art and whimsey.”
This curated space of art and whimsey is what keeps generations returning to the fair.
“I was at a meeting the other day and somebody was a third generation Oregon Country fairgoer. Their parents were babies here. They were babies here. Now, they’re on crews that help manage the safety of this community,” says Kate Gillespie, the White Bird Rock Medicine crew coordinator.
Gillespie has been working within medical response at the fair for sixteen years.
Before fair goers even arrive, White Bird Rock Medicine works on setting up for the two hospitals provided on site as well as staffing medical crew – which consists of almost 300 medical professionals and mental health crisis workers.
“We are prepared to deal with first aid things like scrapes, bumps, bruises; injured feet are a big thing that we see – all the way up to things like cardiac events and strokes,” Gillespie explains.
And for the attendees they serve, the event is a yearly tradition that is more than just a fair – it’s a chance to catch up with old friends and make new memories.
“I think it’s really like a reunion for a lot of the people that are out here on this property,” says Gillespie.
The Oregon Country Fair runs Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the intersection of Suttle Road and Bus Road in Veneta.
For more information, visit the fair website.
The Oregon attorney general will ask a court to pause Paramount’s PSKY.O $110 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros. WBD.O for 60 days, saying on Tuesday that the company withheld records of its lobbying efforts.
While Paramount has told the state it will not close the deal before July 16, Attorney General Dan Rayfield said he will ask a Multnomah County court to order the company to hand over records and to delay the deal so the state can review them.
“We’re not going to let Paramount Skydance play hide the ball so they can rush through their massive merger,” Rayfield said in a statement. “Oregonians have a real stake in this deal – in our film industry, in our economy, in the choices they’ll have as consumers.”
A Paramount spokesperson said the information Oregon seeks “has nothing to do with whether this transaction complies with Oregon’s antitrust laws and is not a legitimate basis to delay a plainly lawful, pro-competitive transaction.”
The company has provided the state with documents relevant to the merger, the spokesperson added.
Oregon is seeking documents regarding “Project Warrior,” which was Paramount’s internal code name for efforts to obtain regulatory clearance. The state is also asking for records related to the company’s efforts to lobby the Trump administration for support of the merger.
Paramount CEO David Ellison’s father, billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has cultivated ties with President Donald Trump, and the company has hired former Trump officials.
Oregon is also seeking information on whether Paramount had any role in the U.S. Department of Justice’s statement announcing it had cleared the deal.
While Oregon ordinarily “would afford significant weight” to the DOJ’s determination, the state plans to cite a Wall Street Journal report that officials overrode career staff attorneys at the DOJ who were leaning toward a recommendation to challenge the deal, according to documents to be filed in court that Reuters reviewed.
The DOJ issued a lengthy statement last month saying it believed the deal would “increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, with benefits for American consumers and workers.”
The company has said the deal would create a stronger streaming competitor to Netflix NFLX.O and Disney DIS.N, and benefit creatives and consumers.
California, New York and other U.S. states are preparing to sue to block the deal, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last month. The states have authority to enforce laws against mergers that they believe would unlawfully decrease competition.
Opponents of the deal, including some actors, writers and media workers, have worried that it would hurt jobs.
When asked if he’d like to join the music program Keys, Beats, Bars, Mikey, who’s currently incarcerated at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, figured it would be a good chance to spend some time outside of his unit.
Through a series of workshops, the program brought local musicians and educators into the facilities. They made beats and taught the group about rhyme schemes and rap bars. It was a way for Mikey and his peers to make music, but also to discuss common interests and their shared experiences at MacLaren as they brainstormed lyrics.
Eventually, they recorded a song, “No Ceilings,” about the barriers of incarceration, the music video for which is premiering at a July 11 benefit concert at the Tomorrow Theater dubbed the Restorative Justice Showcase.
Several formerly incarcerated artists feature on the night’s bill, including Keys, Beats, Bars co-founder Talilo Marfil and influential rapper and activist Mic Crenshaw, who led the workshops that produced “No Ceilings.” Hip-hop artist Swiggy Mandela will lead a live cypher, or freestyle rap session, with music by duo Alley Oop to end the show.
Mikey, not his real name, called the songwriting process “therapeutic.”
“Being able to listen to the beats or just channel that, in a positive way,” Mikey says, “I’m glad that I got the opportunity to utilize that while I’m here.”
Music has always been a part of Mikey’s life. His mom played Mariah Carey and DeBarge, and his grandma always had something on when they spent time together on weekends. When he’s feeling irritated or doesn’t want to be bothered, he turns to music.
“You find little achievements and little accolades along the way that, while you’re doing your time, make it easier to get through the day,” Mikey says. “Some people like reading books. Some people like playing basketball. Some people like listening to music.”
Marfil, who is also executive director of the peer advocacy program Ascending Flow, says he wishes he’d had programs like this when he was incarcerated. He found support through church, “but not everybody relates to church,” he says.
After his release, Marfil enrolled in Outside the Frame, an organization that provides homeless youth access to filmmaking resources. “It made me feel like my story mattered and that it was worth telling,” he says. “They gave me opportunities to show my films, my music, to the greater public in front of sold-out shows. Going from dreaming about it in a cell to actually doing it is a game changer for an individual.”
Keys, Beats, Bars runs several music programs for disadvantaged youth. But Marfil, alongside musician and community organizer Adam Carpinelli, launched the workshops at MacLaren.
“I’ve seen it give them hope,” Marfil says. “I think that’s the most important thing: hope, motivation, inspiration and, for a moment, a sense of relief through expression.”
To protect their anonymity, the music video couldn’t feature Mikey, who raps on the song, and his bandmates directly. Instead, Marfil contracted an artist to animate the song’s narrative, which follows a boy from childhood to incarceration.
“Usually, you don’t get to do stuff like that up in jail,” Mikey says, adding that he appreciated the project’s follow-through. “It was kind of cool being able to get the opportunity to record.”
MacLaren is Oregon’s largest juvenile correctional facility. It houses up to 187 youth, ranging ages 12 to 25. While similar to a jail or prison, this style of youth correctional facility places a stronger focus on education and rehabilitation. In contrast to juvenile transitional facilities and residential programs, MacLaren is closed-custody, meaning it’s secure and fenced. In 2025, a Marion County grand jury tasked with assessing MacLaren’s conditions titled its report “Cascading Failures,” citing gang activity, extensive contraband, sexual abuse and staff shortages.
Marfil stresses the role programs like Keys, Beats, Bars play in larger efforts toward restorative justice, and towards ameliorating systemic inequities in the U.S. prison system.
Projecting incarcerated youths’ voices outside of detention facilities is a powerful means for effecting change.
“The song is really just a reflection of being in the facilities and dreaming of what could be possible without the barriers that got them there in the first place, and what they want the community to see about themselves when they get out,” Marfil says. “‘No Ceilings’ is a good example of seeing that youth who are incarcerated have hopes and dreams, and they can contribute something to society.”
SEE IT: Restorative Justice Showcase & Voices From the Inside: A Youth Music Video Premiere at Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division St., tomorrowtheater.org. 3 pm Saturday, July 11. $15. All ages.
HEAR: “No Ceilings” by Keys, Beats, Bars streams on YouTube and Apple Music.
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